1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to micro-miniature electronic elements and particularly to an improved design and method of manufacturing a single- or multi-connector assembly which may include internal electronic components.
2. Description of Related Technology
Existing modular jack/connector technology commonly utilizes individual discrete components such as choke coils, filters, resistors, capacitors, transformers, and LEDs disposed within the connector to provide the desired functionality. The use of the discrete components causes considerable difficulty in arranging a layout within the connector, especially when considering electrical performance criteria also required by the device. Often, one or more miniature printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used to arrange the components and provide for electrical interconnection there between. Such PCBs consume a significant amount of space in the connector, and hence must be disposed in the connector housing in an efficient fashion which does not compromise electrical performance, and which helps minimize the manufacturing cost of the connector. This is true in both single and multi-row connector configurations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,067 entitled “Shielded Connector” to Scheer (hereinafter “Scheer”) exemplifies a common prior art approach. In this configuration, one or more PCBs are disposed within the connector housing in a vertical planar orientation such that an inner face of the PCB is directed toward an interior of the assembly and an outer face directed toward an exterior of the assembly. This is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Scheer. The arrangement of Scheer, however, is not optimal from space usage and electrical performance standpoints, in that when the components are disposed on the PCBs on the inner face (see FIG. 6 of Scheer), they are in close proximity to the majority of run of the jack (and to some degree modular plug) conductors, thereby allowing for significant cross-talk and EMI opportunity there between.
Alternatively, if all or the preponderance of the components are disposed on the external or outward side of the vertical PCB (see, e.g., FIG. 4 of Scheer), significant space is wasted in the interior volume of the connector, thereby forcing the designer to either utilize smaller and/or fewer components in their design to fit within a prescribed housing profile, and/or utilize a larger housing or thinner walls to generate more interior volume. Stated differently, the ratio of usable volume to total volume within the connector is not optimized.
Another disability with prior art connector arrangements relates to their visual indication systems. Prior art systems generally use one of two arrangements comprising either LEDs which are directly viewable by the user from the front face of the connector, or optically transmissive conduits (e.g., light pipes) which transfer the light energy from the LED to the front face of the connector. A common problem relates to enclosure of the LED within the connector housing (and hence often the external noise shield). This arrangement increases the level of radiated noise within the housing, and therefore the level of noise and cross-talk present in the signal. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,159 issued Apr. 9, 2002 to Hess, et al. Various schemes have been utilized to place the comparatively “noisy” LEDs outside the external noise shield, but many of these are unwieldy and are not well suited to multi-port connector arrangements. Many prior art solutions also require the LEDs or light sources to be disposed on or near the parent substrate (PCB). See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,239 issued Mar. 2, 1999 to Morin, et al. Furthermore, many arrangements treat each LED individually, thereby necessitating significant amounts of labor in manufacture.
Based on the foregoing, it would be most desirable to provide an improved connector apparatus and method of manufacturing the same. Such improved apparatus would ideally be highly efficient at using the interior volume of the connector as compared to prior art solutions, mitigate cross-talk and EMI to a high degree, and allow for the use of a variety of different components (including light sources) with the connector assembly at once, thereby reducing labor cost. Furthermore, such improved connector apparatus would have an indication arrangement which facilitates low radiated noise and cross-talk, yet is cost-effective to manufacture.